Bhangeri

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Bhangeri, officially Bhangeri Mahavatpur, is a village in Roorkee tehsil in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. It lies in the green Terai plain near the Sivalik Hills at about 268 meters above sea level. The village had a population of 8,583 in 2011–2012, with 4,491 men and 4,092 women. The official language is Hindi, and the local people speak Khariboli.

Why the name: It was originally called Mahavatpur, meaning “the place where elephant trainers live.” The area later became known as Bhangeri because bhang (cannabis) grows in nearby uncultivated land, so people began calling it “the place where bhang grows.”

History: Bhangeri started to take shape in the mid-1800s after the British set up a cantonment near Roorkee in 1853. Roorkee grew after the Ganga Canal work and the establishment of Thomason College of Engineering (now IIT Roorkee). A small settlement of 50–60 people formed around a Banyan tree where Indian foot soldiers lived near the cantonment.

Demographics: In 2011, about 49% of residents were Hindu and about 51% Muslim. Children aged 0–6 numbered around 1,168 (about 13.6%). The literacy rate was about 75%, with male literacy at 83.6% and female literacy at 66.0%. There are about 1,583 houses.

Amenities: Bhangeri has basic facilities such as water and sewerage. It has the authority to build roads within town limits and collect property taxes.